Thursday, 5 March 2015

Writing Seasonal Stories by Linda Carroll-Bradd...

Good morning, lovely readers!

Today, I have the lovely Linda Carroll-Bradd visiting to talk about writing seasonal stories...as I have only written one seasonal story I am looking forward to any tips! Linda is giving away an ecopy of her latest release to one random commenter - good luck! Take it away, Linda...

One of my favorite aspects of writing
stories around a holiday theme is doing the research to find something unique.
Last year I wrote short stories in response to publisher calls for anthology
submissions to include Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day themes. An
added benefit of seasonal stories is that a word count is provided and the
turnaround time from story submission to anthology publication is relatively
short.

Often my plotting process is aided by the
specific requirements of a sub-genre or locale. Knowing the holiday also helps
with writing the weather. My recent inclusions in anthologies have been western
historicals. I have always been fascinated about the 1800s and how the society
was enriched by lots of cultures coming together. I make sure to create characters
from different ethnic backgrounds, as well as people coming from different
social strata within the US. Because most of my stories have small town
settings, these people would be shopping at the same stores and worshipping at
the same church. Therefore, learning about the various traditions becomes a
natural part of the plot.

Then the fun begins, and I get to research
an interesting custom or tradition related to that particular holiday from
within that ethnic group. For example, in When
My Heart Knew part of Cowboy Kisses,
my hero was of Scottish and Welsh descent and grew up on a dairy farm in
Scotland. Then he was orphaned and an uncle brought him to his cattle ranch in
Texas. As Valentine’s Day approaches, he remembers a tradition from his
mother’s family of carving a lovespoon with symbols that are specific to the
courting couple and presents one to the heroine. I enjoy making the romantic
experience between each couple special.

BLURB:

Tomboy Maisie
Treadwell meets her match in cowboy Dylan MacInnes. From the moment they meet,
the sparks and words fly. Of course, if she hadn’t knocked him down and caused
an ankle sprain, their relationship might have gone more smoothly. To avoid
damaging the reputation of the family’s boarding house, Maisie is ordered to be
at the mercy of meeting Dylan’s demands. When they discover a shared interest
in adventure stories, a bond is struck. Soon, Maisie can’t wait to spend time
reading aloud to the virile man confined to a bed. Until the afternoon she
overhears him explaining that his demands were meant to teach her a lesson. Can
Dylan find a way to gain her trust again?

EXCERPT:

Mr. MacInnes stood in the doorway,
balancing on one foot with a rough-cut tree branch under his left arm as a
crutch. “Ready for me?”

Many times Maisie had been in a boarder’s
room with that male present. But never had she felt flushed like she did now.
Was that guilt? Or some other feeling? Quickly, she set down the volumes and
ran a hand over the quilt, wondering if he’d be bothered by daisies and summer
ferns. “There’s a chair by the window and I can find a footstool.” She swept a
hand in that direction. “Or I’ve brought an extra pillow for resting on the
bed.” What was she saying? The man knew why the pillow was there.

Mr. MacInnes stared at the bed with a
narrowed gaze and then shook his head. “Let’s try the bed.”

“What?” She jerked and stepped back,
knocking her heel against the wall. Heat flamed in her cheeks but she fought
against covering them with her hands.

He pressed his lips together then spoke.
“I meant could you help position the pillow under my foot?”

“Of course, sir.” Maisie lifted the
pillow and waited as he limped across the rag rug and eased down onto the
quilt-covered mattress.

The bedsprings creaked under his weight
and he scooted until he was centered in the bed. Clasping both hands under his
knee, he lifted and then jerked his head. “Okay, slide it under.”

Maisie jumped forward to comply. “There,
how does that feel?”

“All right for having a sprained ankle.”

The mention of his injury shot guilt
through her. “I want to tell you how sorry I am that I ran into you and caused
this.” She gestured at his foot and accidentally bumped it.

“Damnation, girl.” He sucked in air
through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I’m so clumsy. I’m sorry again.” She
wrapped her arms around her middle to keep from causing another accident. She
watched his tight expression relax and breathed out a sigh of relief. “And I’ll
be thanking you for not revealing to my mother my type of attire when first we
met.”

Mr. MacInnes cocked an eyebrow. “She
doesn’t know her daughter dresses like a man and rides alone on the prairie.”

As a young girl,
Linda was often found lying on her bed reading about fascinating characters
having exciting adventures in places far away and in other time periods. In
later years, she read and then started writing romances and achieved her first
publication--a confession story. Married with 4 adult children and 2
granddaughters, Linda writes heartwarming contemporary and historical stories
with a touch of humor from her home in the southern California mountains.